Last Saturday night, Lebanon I-44 Speedway hosted Heritage Bank Championship night at the races, the last show of the 2018 season. Champions were crowned in all five divisions with several new winners stepping up on the last night of the year. Three of our Championship battles came down to the wire adding extra drama to the show. Fans were on the edge of their seat cheering for their favorite driver one last time as they fought to add their name to the coveted list of Track Champions.
Chargers
First onto the track was the Charger division. Coming into the night Crystal Blake had a narrow point lead over William Garner. Garner needed a near perfect night to claim the 2018 Championship and Rookie of the Year. In the heat race, Nick Bradshaw and Crystal Blake brought the field to the green flag. Nick Bradshaw powered to the early lead while Shannon Geller and Crystal Blake battled it out for 2nd. Contact was made between the two sending them both to the rear of the field. The green flag came back out and Nick Bradshaw held the lead once again with Mason Mundy in second. On lap 9, Crystal Blake was involved in another incident ultimately ending her heat race. Up front, it was all Nick Bradshaw as he took his first ever heat race win in his rookie season. In the feature, the drivers were starting based on their Championship standing, but since Crystal Blake did not finish her heat race she was forced to start tailback. William Garner was on the pole with his brother, Shannon Geller, to his outside. Geller grabbed the early lead, but Garner made the pas on lap 4 and took control. Chris Albright made his move around Geller and moved into second. Crystal Blake was making moves and working her way through the pack trying to catch Garner to save her Championship, but when the checkered flag flew it was all William Garner. He did exactly what he had to do to win the Championship and swept the night. Chris Albright came home 2nd and Crystal Blake finished third. Garner won the feature, the Championship, and the Rookie of the Year title in the Charger division.
Big 10 Late Models
Next, the Big 10 Late Models rolled onto the High Banks for the last time in 2018. In the heat race, Brandon Jordan and Nick Cherry sat on the front row. At the drop of the green, Brandon Jordan jumped into the early lead and Nick Cherry jumped into 2nd. On lap 3, point-leader, Jimmy Fohn, moved into second and went to work on Jordan. On lap 5, Fohn took over the lead and Dylan Bates made the pass for third. At the line, it was Jimmy Fohn, Brandon Jordan, and Dylan Bates rounding out the top three. In the feature, Fohn and Bates made up the front row. Fohn took the lead on lap one and Bates followed in second. Bates needed a mistake from Fohn in order to steal the Championship. On lap 3, Bates lost 2nd place to Justin Blake. Fohn continued to lead while Justin Blake tried to reel him in. On lap 16, Jimmy Fohn’s window net fell and got stuck in his steering wheel forcing him to give up some time. Blake jumped into the lead and held off Fohn for the last four laps to take his second feature win of the season and ended up third overall in the Championship. Jimmy Fohn finished in second and took home the very first Big 10 Late Model Track Championship. Dylan Bates finished in third taking home the Big 10 Late Model Series Rookie of the Year title and second in the Championship.
Modifieds
Next up were the open-wheeled Modifieds. All Ricky Icenhower needed to do was start Saturday night’s feature and he did just that, and then some. In the first heat race, Chris Kerperien and Chris Johnson brought the field to the green. Johnson took the lead early, until Ricky Icenhower took control on lap 3. Icenhower went on to take the heat win with Chris Johnson in second and Richard Lewis in third. In the second heat race, Chris Nichols and Brian Lewis were on the front row, but the race was red flagged after Chris Nichols took a hard hit, ultimately ending his night. After the original restart, Brian Lewis took over the race lead with Michael Juergenson in second. At the checkered flag, Brian Lewis picked up the win with Juergenson in second and Devon Russell in third. In the feature, Ricky Icenhower and Michael Juergenson sat on the front row. Icenhower grabbed the lead, but then a caution on lap three re-grouped the field. On the restart, Icenhower took the lead once again, but Richard Lewis used the restart to his advantage and got around Michael Juergenson for second. Richard Lewis tried to reel in Icenhower in hopes of claiming the $250 Icenhower Bounty in the last race of 2018. Icenhower was able to lead all 20 laps in another dominant performance taking the feature win and the 2018 Track Championship. Richard Lewis came home second in the feature and third in the Championship behind Michael Juergenson by just two points. Juergenson finished third in the feature, but second in the Championship and claimed the 2018 Modified division Rookie of the Year title.
Street Stocks
Then the street stocks rolled out to put on a show for the fans one more time in 2018. In the first heat race, Alex Shaw and Brecken Johnson brought the field to the green. Brock Johnson made the move around both of them to take the lead on lap one. Shaw held onto second until lap 4 when Ben Johnson jumped into second. At the end of lap 6, Brock Johnson took the checkered flag with Ben in second and point leader, Jordan Nisbett, in third. In the second heat race, Aaron Wilke was on the pole with Trevor Icenhower to his outside. Icenhower held the outside at the drop of the green and took the early lead. Behind Icenhower, Steve Shaw worked his way around Wilke for second. Shaw and Icenhower were in a very close battle for second in the Championship. Icenhower continued to lead the heat race, but Steve Shaw lost second position to Tony Johnson with two laps to go. Icenhower picked up the heat win, Tony Johnson finished second and Steve Shaw rounded out the top three. In the feature, Jordan Nisbett and Trevor Icenhower made up the front row. Nisbett really just needed to start the feature to claim the 2018 Street Stock Track Championship. At the drop of the green, Trevor Icenhower jumped into the lead and Ben Johnson followed him into second place. On lap 2, the caution came out for a spin from Alex Shaw. On the restart, Icenhower held off Ben Johnson. Behind Ben Johnson, Brock Johnson was able to pass Jordan Nisbett for second. Ben Johnson made several attempts to pass Icenhower for the lead, but just couldn’t get the job done. With two laps to go, Aaron Douglas had snuck into the top 3 and then made the pass on Ben Johnson for second. At the line, it was Trevor Icenhower picking up his very first feature win at Lebanon I-44 Speedway. Aaron Douglas finished second and Ben Johnson ended-up third. Jordan Nisbett went on to claim the Track Championship and with his win, Trevor Icenhower was able to hold onto second in the Championship and claim the 2018 Street Stock Rookie of the year title. Steve Shaw had another great season with a solid third place in the Championship.

Pro Late Models James Tait Memorial
The last race of the 2018 season was the premier division, the Pro Late Models, who were racing in honor of the late James Tait. In the first heat race, Tim Swearengin started on the pole with Ryu Taggart to his outside. Swearengin shifter through the gear box and jumped into the lead with Taggart in second. The two leaders held position until lap 8 when David Wood moved into second behind his teammate. Point leader, Ken Dickinson followed Wood past Taggart for third. Swearengin picked up the heat win with David Wood second and Dickinson third. In the second heat race, Brian Brown and Jimmy Vanzandt made up the front row. Brian Brown got the jump and took the early lead, but then the caution flag flew due to an accident involving Bobby Woods and Sterling Marlin which ended Marlin’s heat race. Brian Brown controlled the restart once again with Vanzandt in second. Behind them Steve Holt was working on Jake Piel for third. Brian Brown went on to take the heat race win with Vanzandt second and Steve Holt third. Dickinson, Swearengin, and Vanzandt were in a close battle for the Championship coming into the feature. In the feature, Ken Dickinson and Tim Swearengin brought the field to the green flag for the final race of the year. Swearengin grabbed the lead from the outside and Vanzandt jumped into second shuffling Dickinson back to third quickly. Swearengin led the first half of the race until Jimmy Vanzandt decided it was his turn to lead some laps. Vanzandt took the lead and built a decent lead. The battle for second ensued as Dickinson worked on Swearengin. Dickinson made the pass and set his target on Vanzandt. Behind the leaders, the No. 35 of Steve Holt was working his way through the field. After a long green flag run, a late race caution came out for a spin from Sterling Marlin as he was working his way through the pack. The leaders were now set up for a good old-fashioned shootout. Vanzandt led the field back to the green flag with Steve Holt and Ken Dickinson right behind him. The green flag waved and Vanzandt dove into turn one, but Steve Holt was right at his door looking for his third win of 2018. Vanzandt powered down the back stretch and was able to stay ahead of Holt in turn three and four. Vanzandt held off the field and went on to pick up a long overdue feature win with Steve Holt second and Ken Dickinson third. While Vanzandt won the feature, he remained third in the Championship because Dickinson and Swearengin minimized the damage with solid top 5 runs. Ken Dickinson was crowned the 2018 Pro Late Model Track Champion with two wins and only one finish outside of the top 5. Tim Swearengin was second in the Championship and Jimmy Vanzandt was third. The 2018 Pro Late Model Rookie of the Year was Ryu Taggart after a solid season.
2018 was one of the most exciting seasons of racing we have had in several years. We had many new drivers start their careers this year and we can’t wait to see what these drivers do in the years to come. We also saw many veterans continue to show why they are the Masters of the High-Banks as names like Dickinson, Icenhower, Fohn and Nisbett continue to claim feature wins and Track Championships. 2019 is setup to be another great year, be sure to check our website, i44speedway.net, and our Facebook page throughout the offseason to keep up with 2019 updates. See you next year!
By Dylan Bates